Ethical Aspect in Managing Critically Ill Patient

Introduction

Critically ill patients need treatment either in an ICU or a CCU or treatment by a specialist in a well equipped and sufficiently staffed hospital. There are many ethical issues which remain unattended. This article throws light on various ethical aspects which should be considered while treating a critically ill patient.

Lack of Guidelines

If we look at the state of ICUs and CCUs around us we’d agree that a majority of them are ill equipped and understaffed. At present, there is no regulatory body responsible for laying down guidelines for the construction and establishment of an ICU and also for its further inspection. So, anybody who has some medical qualifications (not necessarily allopathic) starts an ICU. Mostly, it is deficient in space and equipment. A well known example is that of a CCU and Cardiac Research Center staffed by final year MBBS students of a local private medical college!

So, the first and foremost task which should be seriously taken up by the State Medical Council, the (so called) regulatory body of the medical profession is to lay down some guidelines in this respect.

Preference of Treatment

The Declaration of Geneva states: “I will not permit consideration of religion, nationality, race, party politics, or social standing to intervene between my duty and my patient. But, it is frequently seen that whenever there is shortage of beds or equipment in an ICU, the financially or politically influential patient gets preference in admission, treatment or equipment over a common man who may be in greater need and waiting for treatment. So, in such situations, the “First come first served” policy should be strictly followed without taking into account any other factor.

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